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Friday, October 17, 2008

kiwano taste something good?

the original title for this entry was going to be, "what in the hell is this thing?" i picked up the kiwano at the local food bank last night. it was sitting all lonely among the bruised mangoes that no one wanted.

*sidenote: i go to this amazing food bank once a week because a) we're poor and b) i'm a nursing mom. this food bank takes care to stock shelves with good wholesome food, and lets the customer pick what they want making for a more dignified/empowering experience. most of the time i'll see really awesome things that i love to eat but never buy from the grocery store because they're so expensive. these products get ignored and eventually composted. point in case the aforementioned kiwano, mangoes, artichokes, etc. meanwhile other patrons of the food bank fight over frozen pizza and my pretty pony edition rice krispy treats.

when i see these items i grab 'em. that's how i learned about jicima, kohlrabi, and the rutabaga. so when i saw this spiny orb i had to liberate it and see what it had inside. i thought it was going to be a squash, but was amazed by the anti-freeze green seedy goo that glistened once cut. i tasted it and it reminded me of a citrus flavored cucumber. i ran the pulp through my strainer and kept the frothy slimy juice to mix with the mangoes, papaya, and baby bananas i picked up-(also food bank finds!) and put them in the freezer for future smoothie use. that's gonna be a taste bud blowing tropical smoothie!

keep in mind that at the time i still didn't know what this thing was. this morning i took pictures with my camera phone, hoping i'd post them on PPK and find out what this mystery thing was-- and they turned out terrible! so i googled the image for "spiney fruit" and found the kiwano. it is also known as the horned melon. origins are from africa, and as i suspected hella expensive at $4 to $6 per fruit! you're supposed to eat them like a pomegranate, but i don't have time for that so i'm glad i strained the pulp from the seeds.

for now, i'll cross my fingers and hope the pantry will get durians in the future.